The Princess and the Goblin
#3244.04 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Complete 1872–1883 Reading commitment Low George MacDonald Last reviewed 2026-10-02
Overview
George MacDonald's two novels of Princess Irene and the miner's son Curdie are among the founding works of children's fantasy, acknowledged as an influence by Tolkien, Lewis and Chesterton. In The Princess and the Goblin (1872) the goblins who live beneath the mountain plot against the royal house, and Irene, guided by the thread of her mysterious great-great-grandmother in the tower, goes down into the dark to rescue the captured Curdie. In The Princess and Curdie (1883) the grandmother gives Curdie hands that feel what a person truly is, and a monstrous, loyal companion, Lina, and sends him to the corrupt capital where the king lies poisoned. A separate world from MacDonald's Phantastes, Lilith and At the Back of the North Wind.
Fairy-tale retelling, Portal fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
Princess Irene and Curdie George MacDonald
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Princess and the Goblin | 1872 | 1 | core | 4.03 (42,932 ratings) |
 | The Princess and Curdie | 1883 | 2 | core | 4.08 (11,114 ratings) |
George MacDonald's two novels of Princess Irene, the miner's son Curdie and the mysterious great-great-grandmother in the tower: a founding work of children's fantasy, acknowledged by Tolkien, Lewis and Chesterton. Serialised 1870-1871 and 1877; book publication 1872 and 1883.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Princess and the Goblin? The Princess and the Goblin's Core Canon is 2 books.
- What is the reading order for The Princess and the Goblin? Publication order, starting with The Princess and the Goblin. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Princess and the Goblin finished? Complete (1872–1883).
- How much reading does The Princess and the Goblin take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books · ~497 pages).
- How is The Princess and the Goblin ranked? #324 in this site's official ranking, based on 54,046 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #324?
Ranked #324 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.04 across 2 core books.
- A smaller readership (54,046 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 2 rated core books rate within 0.05 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #323, James and the Giant Peach (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 2 books · Complete · 54k ratings · Ranks #324 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment fairy-tale retelling fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (2 Core Canon books)
- The Princess and the Goblin (1872)
- The Princess and Curdie (1883)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- No award applies; the works predate the genre's award era.
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Suggestions computed from what The Princess and the Goblin and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Ella Enchanted Fairy-tale retelling · Complete · Low commitment · 4.02
- Bed-Knob and Broomstick Portal fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.99
- Jim Button Portal fantasy / Comic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.28
- Howl's Moving Castle Fairy-tale retelling / Comic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.21
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.04 across 54,046 ratings on 2 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon extension: The Princess and the Goblin (George MacDonald) accepted 2026-10-02
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-10-02
Rule: Core Canon = The Princess and the Goblin (1872) and The Princess and Curdie (1883), complete duology.